Triton baseball needed to make a statement. Having lost two of three games in their opening series to the Pacific Tigers and dropping one more to their crosstown rival, the San Diego State Aztecs, it was time for a reset. More importantly, it was time to show the college baseball world that UC San Diego is still a contender that can compete with the best the NCAA has to offer. This past Friday, however, they had to settle for the Pepperdine Waves.
Still, UCSD baseball (2-3, 0-0 Big West) was able to send a powerful message, dominating the Pepperdine Waves (0-6, 0-0 WCC) in an 18-1 blowout on Friday at Triton Ballpark. This game was the first of three the Tritons hosted as part of the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament.
After the game, head coach Eric Newman reflected on the days of training the team underwent before heading into their weekend slate of games, emphasizing the importance of reestablishing their identity. By the end of Friday’s game, Newman seemed confident his team had done just that.
“Today they came out and just really just executed really well,” he said. “I felt like it was just a matter of time, and sure enough, it just opened up for us.”
A chilly evening at Triton Ballpark did not seem to bother redshirt sophomore pitcher Matthew Dalquist — the Tritons’ ace — as he made his second start of the season. Dalquist swiftly retired the Waves’ first three batters in just eight pitches, setting the tone for the rest of the evening. Dalquist would go on to pitch six innings, allowing zero runs on just three hits. In the first two games of the 2025 season, Dalquist has posted an impressive 0.82 ERA.
On the Triton offense, it was time for things to open up. A home run by redshirt junior and left fielder Patrick Hackworth in the second and a sac fly in the third by sophomore first baseman Gabe Camacho gave the Tritons a 2-0 lead. The Tritons would double this lead in the fifth, when — after sophomore outfielder Michael Crossland was deemed unable to advance to home plate on what seemed like a routine hit — the following batter, junior third baseman J.C. Allen, hit an RBI double to make it 4-0. Fans echoed the thoughts of everyone at Triton Ballpark: “Ball don’t lie.”
Then, the floodgates opened. A plethora of hits for the Tritons and an untimely error from the Waves built a healthy 7-0 cushion. With runners on second and third with two outs, J.C. Allen iced the game via a three-run homer into left field. 10-0, ballgame.
Even having built an insurmountable lead, the Triton offense kept up the fireworks. In the bottom of the seventh, junior center fielder Alex Leopard absolutely demolished a fastball deep into right field. The Triton faithful began cheering for the home run as soon as the ball left Leopard’s bat. In the eighth, a five-run inning was highlighted by Hackworth’s second homer of the night and the team’s fourth home run of the game, helping to build an 18-0 lead. While the Waves showed some fight in the top of the ninth gaining one run, the Tritons hung on to win 18-1.
The Triton win was only their second of the year, though it is a good momentum builder for what Newman called one of the most important stretches of the season. “The next stretch of eight games is a really good stretch for us,” he said. “It’s gonna be a lot of good opponents, a lot of opponents that will be at the top of their leagues … have NCAA tournament type aspirations. So, that’s one thing we’re talking about is really like how we’re gonna be tested in our next eight games.”
This pre-Big West play eight-game stretch continued through the weekend. On Saturday, the Tritons won in a walk-off against the Cal Baptist Lancers to mark their second consecutive victory. On Sunday, UCSD made it three in a row against the University of Utah, beating the Utes 9-8. After four games at home against the Cincinnati Bearcats next week, the Tritons will travel to Lubbock, Texas for two games against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
“I think for us, expectations-wise, like, we’re talking about … how do we get to the postseason? How do we get to the NCAA tournament?” Newman said. “I mean, it starts with one game, right?”
